Assignment Brief Business Law Unit 7-2

GRAFTON COLLEGE

UNIT NO 7

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IG M E N T B R IE F

PEARSON BTEC LEVEL 5 HND IN BUSINESS

Unit 7| Business Law

QUALIFICATION: PEARSON BTEC LEVEL5 HND IN BUSINESS Unit 7: Business Law Unit code: H/508/0492 Unit type: Optional Unit level: 4 Credit value: 15 TQT: 150 Assignment Title: Business Law and its Application Author: Muhammad Touseef Internal Verifier: Muhammad Ismail Assignment Approval Date: 2nd May 2017 Date Issued to Learners: 15th May 2017 Draft Submission Date: 30th June 2017 Final Submission Date: 17th July 2017 Aims & Objectives of the Assignment The aim of this unit is to enhance students’ understanding of how business law is applied to the running of a company. Students will gain knowledge of business law and examine the impact of the law on business operations and decision-making. Throughout the unit students will identify legal solutions available to business owners and assess their suitability. Their experiences in this unit will help them better understand the areas of law in which they will want to specialise. They will be able to illustrate the impact of the law on normal business operations and when registering a company and inviting shareholders to invest in it. They will gain an understanding of the law in relation to market abuse and director responsibilities. Students will be able to recognise the application of employment law between employers and employees.

Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit a student will be able to: 1. Explain the basic nature of the legal system. 2. Illustrate the potential impact of the law on a business. 3. Suggest appropriate legal solutions to business problems. 4. Recommend appropriate legal solutions based upon alternative legal advice provided.

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Essential Unit Contents LO1 Explain the basic nature of the legal system The legal system: 

What constitutes a legal system?

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The purpose of law, the evolution of law and different sources of law.

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The differences between statutory law, common law and equity.

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Company law and contract law.

The justice system: 

The role of government in law-making and the justice system.

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Organisation of the judiciary.

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Jurisdictions and the structures of the court.

LO2 Illustrate the potential impact of the law on a business Legislation and legal responsibilities: 

The relationship between regulations, legislation and standards.

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The implications and impacts of various legislation including environmental legislation, health and safety legislation and consumer legislation.

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Legislation on data protection and confidentiality.

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Rules and regulations relating to cyberspace security.

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Employee legislation, equal opportunities and anti-discrimination.

Employment law and its impacts on business decisions and contracts: 

How employment is defined.

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Application of law in cases of maladministration.

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The responsibilities of directors and de legation of tasks.

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How employer and employee relationships interact with employment law.

LO3 Suggest appropriate legal solutions to business problems 

Legal solutions for different types of business problems:

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Consider the application of company law in forming companies, raising capital and correlation of pay and performance.

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Termination of contracts, including employment.

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Rescuing and liquidating companies.

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Essential Unit Contents LO4 Recommend appropriate legal solutions based upon alternative legal advice provided Alternative legal advice: 

Different legal frameworks and laws of different countries

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The role of unions



Citizens’ advice and the role of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

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Vocational ScenarioTASK 1

Task 1 covers Learning Outcome 1 & 2 .

You have recently joined a law firm as trainee consultant and you manager asked you to prepare a “Law Handbook” which will help the new start-up companies to help on the legal system and about the key legislations that they are required to know for effectively running their business. This handbook must contain all salient legislation which a businessman must know and their impact due to non-fulfilment. Your handbook should have the followings:

A. Starting with an explanation of legal system of UK, include different sources of laws that organisations specially the start-up organisations must comply with. You also need to discuss each of them with its scope and impact on the businesses. (P1)

B. Government has a vital role in the legal system of any country, you need to highlight the role of UK Government in law making and explain in detail with its salient points. Further, elaborate how statutory and common law is applied in the justice courts. (P2)

(For Merit) You need to evaluate the effectiveness of the legal system in terms of recent reforms and developments. Give specific examples. (M1)

C. You need to explain key legislation on employment and contract law with some specific examples and illustrate how these laws have potential impact upon businesses. Further, discuss their impact on the businesses with some relevant examples. (P3)

(For Merit) You need to differentiate and analyse the potential impacts of regulations, legislation and standards.

(M2)

(For Distinction) You need to provide a coherent and critical evaluation of the legal system and law, with evidence drawn from a range of different relevant examples to support judgements. (D1)

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Grading Criteria Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO 1: Explain the basic nature of the legal system

P1: Explain different sources of law and laws that organisations must comply with.

M1: Evaluate the effectiveness of the legal system in terms of recent reforms and developments.

P2: Explain the role of government in law making and how statutory and common law is applied in the justice courts.

LO1 & 2: D1: Provide a coherent and critical evaluation of the legal system and law, with evidence drawn from a range of different relevant examples to support judgements.

LO 2: Illustrate the potential impact of the law on a business P3: Using specific examples illustrate how company, employment and contract law has a potential impact upon business.

M2: Differentiate and analyse the potential impacts of regulations, legislation and standards.

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TASK 2

Task 2 covers Learning Outcome 3 & 4

You have submitted your task 1 and you manager is very happy with your effort. Now, he assigned you to advise to your clients who are local running businesses in your area. You have been given three case studies to review which represent various legal problems affecting local businesses. The areas of law to be considered contain company Law (including insolvency and liquidation); contract Law (including termination of contract) and employment Law (including Alternative Dispute Resolution). For each case presented you need to apply and justify a legal solution to the problem.

Case 1: Gordon works as a salesman in the Orange Computers Ltd store. His contract of employment provides for an annual salary of £10,000 and commission payments (at 9%) on any computers and peripherals he sells. In the last three years the commission payments have amounted to an average of £11,000 per annum. In 2015, due to cut throat competition in the local market, the business is adversely affected. The manager, Fred, informs Gordon that the business is in severe financial trouble and that he must reduce the firm’s outgoings. In response, Fred asks Gordon if he will forgo his salary for 2015, 2016 and 2017, and simply accept payments of commission. Fred explained to Gordon that this was required of him (and all other staff) or the business would probably not survive and it would have to be wound up owing substantial debts to creditors. As such, Gordon accepted the variation of the contract. In 2016, the economy began to grow, and in small part due to governmental incentives for investment in information technology, the store has managed to trade its way through the difficult times and is making a healthy profit. As such, Gordon feels that he should be able to receive his wages for 2017 and not simply have to rely on his commission as agreed in 2015. He also wishes to know if he can claim for his wages from 2015 and 2016 as Orange Computers Ltd has sufficient profits to repay this money. Advise Gordon whether he can obtain his wages for 2017, and also whether he would have any claim for the wages he agreed not to accept in the year 2015 and 2016. Discuss in context of employment Law (including Alternative Dispute Resolution

Case 2: After doing some research on the internet, Janet decided to call Virgin Media to arrange the purchase and installation of the internet package costing £35.00 per month, including the phone lines (monthly line rental of £11.00). The engineer came on the arranged date at 9am and installed the internet. However, he could not find the telephone point on the switchboard and suggested that he will call his

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supervisor and come back. Janet waited until 5pm that day for the engineer but he never returned back to complete the task. She called the Virgin Media and complained about the engineer and that she still hasn’t got the phone line yet. Finally, after several calls and e -mails they sent another engineer to fix the phone line after 3 weeks. When the invoice from the Virgin Media arrived Janet was charged for the whole package from the day the internet was installed including the monthly phone line rental. Janet is extremely upset since she believed that her phone line should be charged after 3 weeks only. Analyse the legal position of the service provider (Virgin Media) and the consumer (Janet) on the basis of your understanding on the various elements of contract law.

Case 3: Blackhorse Limited is a security company providing security guards to other businesses, which is one of your client. The company has 50 employees. The company has minimal overheads, apart from the "wage cost" of the employees. The company had four main customers, the largest of which failed leaving Blackhorse limited with a bad debt of £100,000. Since that bad debt was incurred three months ago the company has recovered its previous level of turnover, but that turnover is now spread over ten customers. The cash flow reduction of £100,000 caused by the bad debt resulted in Blackhorse limited "stretching the due dates" of the payments needed to be made to the company's creditors. One of those creditors issued a winding up petition two weeks ago and the court is to consider whether or not to make a winding up order at a hearing set to take place in three weeks’ time. Discuss the different options available to your client to avoid compulsory winding up.

You now need to file a report to your manager outlining the advice and assistance given in relation to these legal problems. Your report should contain the following:

A. Suggest an appropriate legal solution to each of the problems. (P4)

B. Provide justification for the advice and solution given. (P5)

(For Merit) Give an assessment of the positive and negative impact of the solution, you are suggesting to the business. (M3)

C. Recommend legal solutions based on a different country’s legal system and/or an alternative legal framework. (P6)

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(For Merit) You then need to compare and contrast the effectiveness of these recommendations. (M4)

(For Distinction) Finally, you need to critically review and evaluate the use of the appropriate legal solutions suggested in comparison with alternative legal advice. (D2)

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Grading Criteria Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO 3: Suggest appropriate legal solutions to business problems LO3 & 4 P4: Suggest appropriate legal solutions for a range of business problems e.g. termination of contract, rescue from insolvency and liquidation. P5: Provide justifications for the use of appropriate legal solutions.

M3: Assess the positive and negative impacts of legal solutions to business problems.

D2: Critically review and evaluate the use of appropriate legal solutions in comparison with alternative legal advice.

LO 4: Recommend appropriate legal solutions based upon alternative legal advice provided P6: Recommend legal solutions based upon a different country’s legal system and/or a different legal framework.

M4: Compare and contrast the effectiveness of these recommendations.

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Submission Guideline Students must observe the following submission guideline: •

Hardcopy of the assignment should be submitted at the college reception on or before at 5.00 pm on the date specified.

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There is stipulated length for the work is given in each task. However, there is no penalty for increase in word limit.

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All work must be delivered in both hardcopy and softcopy versions. The softcopy should be uploaded on to the MOODLE.

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For security purposes, learners should keep both copies with them.

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Sources should be acknowledged fully by referenced books, journals used and URL visited using Harvard reference style. A good guidance is available on college MOODLE. You can also learn it in your study skill sessions.

Assignment Notes Learners are requested to comply with the following instructions on handing in their assignment work: •

Work should be comprehensively referenced using Harvard style.

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Sources must be acknowledged fully by reference books, journals used and URL visited along with dates of visitation.

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Use the Harvard Referencing System (see attached details).

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All work should be word processed, font size of 12 and font style of Times New Roman/Arial. Subtitles of the assignment should be in the font size of 14 and main title in font size 16.

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Pages should be numbered in footer.

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Spell check the document and read thoroughly for grammatical errors.

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1.5-line spacing is preferable.

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Reference at the end of the assignment.

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All paragraphs containing text should be aligned in justified mode.

Plagiarism and collusion •

Any act of plagiarism and collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the GCMS regulations.

In this context the definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below: •

―Using the work of others without acknowledging the source of information or inspiration. Even if the words are changed or sentences are put in a different order, the result is still plagiarism‖ (Cortell 2003).

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•

Collusion is described as the submission of work produced as a result of the collaboration between two or more parties. Additionally, collaboration entails the sharing of one person‘s work with others who submit either all or part of their coursework ―as their own‖.

Recommended Resources •

Adams, A. (2016) Business Law for Students. 9th ed. London: Pearson

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Andrews, N. (2011) Contract Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Elliott, C and Quinn, F. (2015). The English Legal System. 16th Ed. London: Pearson

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Honeyball, S. (2016) Honeyball and Bowers Text to Employment Law. 14th ed Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Marson, J and Ferris, M. (2015) Business Law. 4th Ed. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

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Slapper, G. and Kelly, D., The English Legal System (London: Cavendish Press, 2004, 7 th edition)

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Smith, A.T.H, Glanville Williams Learning the Law (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 2002), pp.4 -18

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Partington, M., Introduction to the English Legal System (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, 2 nd edition), read in particular chapters 6 and 7 for an overview of the role played by tribunals and courts in providing administrative and family justice

Journals •

New Law Journal

•

International Journal of Law in Context

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Harvard Referencing System We expect students to use the alphabetical or name-date method known as the HARVARD system. There are two parts in this system:

Citation within text or body of the report: In this the author's surname and year of publication are cited in the text, e.g. (Bond, 2004).

Reference List: A reference list (of these citations) is included at the end of the assignment, in alphabetical order by author. The reference list also includes additional details such as the title and publisher. A bibliography lists relevant items that you have used in the preparation of the assignment but not cited in your text. A bibliography should also be in the Harvard style and the inclusion of such a list shows that you have read widely beyond the items you have cited.

Examples of citation within text or body of the report: •

Cormack (1994, p.32-33) states that................

•

............ This view has been supported in the work of Cormack (1994, p.32-33).

•

Jones (1946) and Smith (1948) have both shown……

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Corporate Author: 1st citation: Royal College of Nursing (RCN), 2007 2nd citation: RCN, 2007

Examples of listings in reference list: 1. Books with one author: Redman, P., 2006. Good essay writing: a social sciences guide. 3rd ed. London: Open University in assoc. with Sage. 2. Books with two, three or four authors The required elements for a reference are: Authors, Initials., Year. Title of book. Edition. Place : Publisher •

Kirk, J. & Munday, R.J., 1988. Narrative analysis. 3rd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

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3. Books with more than four authors For books where there are more than four authors, use the first author only with surname and initials followed by ―et al‖. The required elements for a reference are: Author, Initials., Year. Title of book. Edition. (only include this if not the first edition) Place: Publisher Grace, B. et al., 1988. A history of the world. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 4. E-books

•

For e-books the required elements for a reference are: Author, Year, title of book. [type of medium] Place of publication: Publisher •

Fishman, R., 2005. The rise and fall of suburbia. [e-book]. Chester: Castle Press.

If available at website: •

Fishman, R., 2005. The rise and fall of suburbia. [e-book]. Chester: Castle Press.

Available at: libweb.anglia.ac.uk / E-books [accessed 5 June 2016].

5. Journal articles Author, Initials., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue/Part number), Page numbers. •

Perry, C., 2001. What health care assistants know about clean hands. Nursing Times, 97(22), p.63-64.

6. Newspaper articles Author, Initials., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Newspaper Day and month before page numbers of article. •

Slapper, G., 2005. Corporate manslaughter: new issues for lawyers. The Times, 3 Sep. p.4 -5.

7. Journal articles from an electronic source •

Boughton, J.M., 2002. The Bretton Woods proposal: an in depth look. Political Science Quarterly, [online]. 42 (6), Available at: http://www.pol.upenn/articles (Blackwell Science Synergy) [accessed 12 June 2016].

8. Internet

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•

National electronic Library for Health. 2003. Can walking make you slimmer and healthier? (Hitting the headlines article) [Online]. (Updated 16 Jan 2016) Available at: http://www.nhs.uk.hth.walking [accessed 10 April 2016]. The title of a web page is normally the main heading on the page.

9. E-version of annual reports

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Marks & Spencer, 2014. Annual report 2013-2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www-marks-andspencer.co.uk/corporate/annual2013/ [accessed 4 June 2016].

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Assignment Brief Business Law Unit 7-2

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